The present invention relates generally to plastic fasteners of the type commonly used, for example, to attach merchandise tags to articles of commerce.
Plastic fasteners of the type commonly used, for example, to attach merchandise tags to articles of commerce, such as articles of clothing, are well-known and are widely used in the retail industry. Typically, such fasteners comprise an elongated unitary plastic member having a first end shaped to define a cross-bar (also commonly referred to as a "T-bar"), a second end shaped to define a paddle (or a second cross-bar), and a thin flexible filament portion interconnecting the cross-bar and the paddle. The crossbar is appropriately sized and shaped to be inserted first through a merchandise tag and then through the article of commerce. The paddle is appropriately sized and shaped to prevent the tag from being pulled off the filament portion.
Typically, such fasteners are mass-produced by a molding process in either one of two different forms known as fastener stock. One type of fastener stock, which is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,666 and which is incorporated herein by reference, comprises a plurality of fasteners joined together at their respective cross-bars by an orthogonally disposed runner bar. The other type of fastener stock, which is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,475 and which is incorporated herein by reference, comprises a plurality of fasteners arranged in an end- to-end alignment, the heads and opposite ends of successive fasteners being joined together by severable connectors so as to form a continuously connected fastener stock.
The dispensing of individual fasteners from fastener stock into desired articles of commerce is typically accomplished using an apparatus commonly referred to as a "tagger gun." Examples of tagger guns are illustrated in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,320,269, 5,024,365, 4,121,487 and 4,456,161, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Typically, a tagger gun includes (a) a hollow needle having a longitudinal slot extending across its length; (b) means for separating an individual crossbar from the remainder of the fastener stock; and (c) means for feeding the individual cross-bar through the hollow, slotted needle and the desired article of commerce. (Connections, if any, between the paddles of a pair of adjacent fasteners are severed by pulling the tagger gun away from the article of commerce after the cross-bar of one of the fasteners has been inserted thereinto.)
Although plastic fasteners of the type described above work well in the attachment of merchandise tags to article of commerce, it is nonetheless known that certain unscrupulous consumers, on occasion, engage in the practice of "ticket switching" wherein the price tag for a low-priced item is switched with the price tag for a desired high-priced item using the plastic fastener from either the low-priced or the high-priced item. Various approaches to this problem have been devised. See e.g., commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,872, incorporated herein by reference, wherein a tamper-resistant plastic fastener is disclosed.
Although unrelated to the use of plastic fasteners, another common problem suffered by merchants is the theft of their merchandise. One approach that has been adopted by many merchants is the attachment of theft-detection devices to their articles of commerce. Such devices, which are typically quite large and conspicuous in appearance; are usually equipped with a magnetizable element which causes an audible signal or alarm to be emitted from a detector if the article is moved past the detector without previously demagnetizing the element. Typically, the sensor is located at the egress of the store so as to permit authorized personnel to demagnetize or remove the element following the purchase of the item.
Additional patents of interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,151,684, 5,129,974, 4,966,857, 4,947,531,4,920,335, 4,822,990, 4,795,895, 4,299,040, 4,063,229, 4,000,488 and 3,825,801, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.